HH Longbow

[Soonerlongbow]

Gotta ask, whats the difference between a Hill style bow and others?

[ChrisM]

Its how the limbs are made.  Narrow and deep compared to a wide and thin of most RD bows.  Also the limbs will be either backset, straight, or string follow.  Also they are typically not cut to center.

[Bill Turner]

Good answer

[Jacquesbonin]

Shooting a Hill style bow is just that. The style of shooting form is different than shooting bows with reflex deflex, pistle grips, locators or recurves. Shooting a Hill style bow requires practice, the swing draw, being committed to the shot. You want to draw the bow and give each shot all you and the bow have to offer. The true Hill bows have early draw weight, which drives the arrow all the way with more gusto than bows without early draw weight.
The advantage after mastering the skills necessary to shoot a Hill, is the off angle shooting, such as laying down or over the back, or possibly to shoot under an object with the bow held horizontal, this works so well you can make the shot even when you have never encountered that shot situation before. Once you shoot a Hill correctly you won't want anything else in your hands. The biggest problem most archer encounter is picking a bow that doesn't fit them. You should get involved with someone like Nate Steen, Miller or contact Craig with Howard Hill Archery. Tell him what your experiences in archery are, you physical proportions, what presently draw. Anyone of the afore mention artist with archery could put you on the right path and tell you the right bow for you in a Hill bow. I hope this information is of some use to you and any one interested in the Hill bow. Thanks, yours in archery, Jacques

[Orion]

Jacques:  I beg to differ on a few points.  A Hill style bow is really not much different to shoot than any other bow.  Practice, at least if it's good practice, will improve anyone's shooting.  Being committed to the shot helps anyone's accuracy.  A Hill certainly does not require a swing draw.  Even Howard didn't always use a swing draw.  And the Wilhem (sp) brothers, Hill's contemporaries who were as good shots as Hill, used lots of different draw styles.

I appreciate your passion for Hills, and there certainly is some mystique surrounding them, but they're no more difficult (implied) to shoot than other bows.  In fact, because they draw rather smoothly and are so stable, they may be easier to shoot than many of the current pistol grip hybrids, etc.  Because they are straight gripped, as are many other bows, they might require a different grip/bow hand position, bis-a-vis a pistol grip, but overall, they don't require a change in shooting style. I base my observations and opinions on more than 50 years of shooting Hill bows and other style trad bows.  

[Soonerlongbow]

So would my Legacy (now the Sequoia model) qualify?

[tradlongbow]

I googled PSE Sequoia and wasnt able to find a pic unstrung. Post a pic unstrung so we can see the limb profile.

[Soonerlongbow]

Guess I need to set up a photobucket account...good reason to do so anyway.

[Brianlocal3]

No , it's a R/d longbow

[Soonerlongbow]

OK, thanks.

[TSP]

The points made by Jacquesbonin and Orion on Hill-style shootability are both right to a degree, but I'd lean towards Jacques perspective with regard to Hills shooting 'differently' than others, especially compared to the pistol-grip bows with heavy mass in the riser.  Hill-style bows and the Hill method itself ask for more from the shooter, but they also provide a satisfaction and consistency (when taken to heart) that's hard to match with other hunting-style bows. I like recurves and hybrids and they shoot smooth and fast, but if it came down to choosing only one trad hunting bow until my last breath it would be a Hill-style without even blinking. Hard to explain, but those that have shot them for more than a day or two probably know what I mean.

[Orion]

Can't disagree with you TSP.  If I had to pick one, it would be one of my Hills, more for ruggedness and consistency than anything else.  Just nothing to go wrong.  And one can use it as a spear, walking stick and club if one needs to.

They certainly have a different feel than heavy risered, deep pistol gripped recurves, but a lot of today's moderate R/D and even some rather extreme R/d bows have small risers and straight grips and can be shot the same way as a Hill and vice-versa.  For example, G. Fred Asbel teaches the swing draw in his shooting courses.  Most times, he's shooting a Black Widow recurve.  Just one way to shoot a bow, regardless of what kind of bow it is.  They're all good.

[Cochise]

I love Mine! i'm as biased as Jacques appears to be! they are not for everybody..that's for sure..
Cochise

[bicster]

I can't explain why I love the Hill style bows but I do. I have a Black Widow recurve and longbow and shoot them very well but I always go back to my Hill. I have always been intrigued by Hill style bows and love everything about them.

[cahaba]

Originally posted by Orion:
   And the Wilhem (sp) brothers, Hill's contemporaries who were as good shots as Hill,  

Did either of the Wilhelm brothers win 196 archery tournaments in a row? IMO one or two shots here and there don't make them as good as Mr. Hill. He killed many many game animals with eye witness accounts of some spectacular shots. Add it all up and he was without a doubt the best of his time.IMO  

[Muss03]

I recently read Hunting the hard way and have been watching several bits of footage on Howard Hill, Byron Ferguson, and other longbow shooters. I seem to be intrigued with the HH bows lately and want to try one. No one around here seems to shoot them and I have not seen a single HH bow at any of the local shoots. I shoot my recurves well but nevertheless, I'm dying to try on these things.

[SportHunter]

From a newer traditional hunter who's bought, tried and sold mony bows and even built a few I think Hill bows are much like a glass version of a traditional self bow/flatbow. They definatly have a specifc shooting technique but it just feels natural, so much that there are numerous quality bows on my rack basically for decoration since my Hill style bows are taking all my time.

[Brazos]

If you do want to get a Hill bow I would first suggest reading all 650 pages of the HH bow thread.  It's a treasure trove of information.  I got my first HHA bow about 10-12 years ago.  I am the only person I know who shoots a longbow (anything traditional for that matter) so my learning curve has been slow.  I spent 3 weeks of reading the HH bug thread each evening and my shooting has vastly improved.  I am very confident now.  I also learned a lot about what custom features are available.  I incorporated a lot of cool features in the new HHA bow I just ordered I would have never thought about asking for had I not read it here.

[toddster]

yes, check out our Howard Hill Bug thread.  We have alot of great info there and clear's up alot of fog about Mr. Hill's style and bow's, from alot of people who have been around and built the classic bows along time.

[Rossco7002]

For me it's the challeng of shooting the Hill bow well.... And once you get there they seem to help you out on the shots that you don't execute quite so well...